Home Depot seeks dismissal of data breach litigation

Litigation filed by consumers in connection with Home Depot Inc.'s 2014 data breach should be dismissed, because plaintiffs have not suffered any injury attributable to the retailer, said the company, in seeking dismissal of the case in federal court.

Plaintiffs have “suffered no actual or imminent economic injury that is fairly traceable to Home Depot's alleged conduct,” said the Atlanta-based company in a memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss the litigation, which was filed in U.S. District Court Monday in Atlanta in In re: the Home Depot, Inc., customer data security breach.

“Consistent with Home Depot's promise that its customers would not be liable for any fraudulent charges on their payment cards arising from the breach, most of the named plaintiffs admit that they have been fully reimbursed for their losses and do not even allege any monetary loss,” says the memorandum.

“The few plaintiffs who allege some economic harm fail to explain why the losses they allege were not reimbursed” and falls “far short” of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Clapper V. Amnesty Int'l USA, which states alleged injuries must be “concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent.”

The federal judge overseeing litigation in connection with the case, Chief Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr., has set up separate consumer and financial institution litigation tracks.

Home Depot has not yet responded to an amended complaint in the case that was filed by financial institution plaintiffs on May 27.

The next status conference in the case will be held the week of June 22, according to a court filing.